Boston-based Steward Health Care System would become the largest for-profit hospital operator in the U.S. if it wins regulatory approval for a $2 billion merger with Franklin, Tennessee-based IASIS Healthcare. 

Policy uncertainty, changing reimbursement models and price transparency are just some of the topics expected to be discussed at the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s upcoming Annual National Institute, which runs from June 25 to 28 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. 

Smoking cessation can be a daunting task for many smokers—but help could be found in your email inbox. An American Cancer Society study, published in Tobacco Control, found personalized and frequent emails were as effective in helping patients quit smoking as many leading medications. 

Activist hedge fund manager Paul Singer of Elliott Management disclosed its 9.2 percent stake in Watertown, Massachusetts-based Athenahealth, sending the company’s stock price soaring.

The only hospital in Polk County, Tennessee, has laid off 15 nurses, halted all inpatient care and started a crowdfunding campaign in hopes of raising $100,000.

A cap could be placed on what “indirect” medical research costs can be covered by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, which researchers warn could “disembowel” their institutions.

Testing new medications can be risky, especially without an effective monitoring program. A study, published in Medical Care, evaluated the impact drug safety monitoring could have on detecting unsafe medications, improving patient care and controlling medical costs.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is again involved in a lawsuit alleging UnitedHealth Group (UHG) received Medicare Advantage payments to which it wasn’t entitled.